Mrs. Deedee Nadeau is starting her 23rd year of teaching 5th grade for WACS/Cotter. She has been the 5th grade science teacher for all of those years - so students have gotten to know a lot about some of her favorite science curriculum, including plants, leaves, space, constellations, and national parks. She was born and raised in Cedar Rapids, IA. She attended college at Saint Mary’s here in Winona with her background in environmental biology, art, and finally, elementary education. She and her husband, Donny, have two married sons that both graduated from Cotter (Andy and Joey) and two young grandchildren. Mrs. Nadeau loves the outdoors - hiking, kayaking, photography, bird watching, traveling, and tent camping are some of her favorite activities.

Mrs. Alanna Pelowski is excited to be back on the Cotter Campus! This is her 2nd year teaching 5th grade (she directed the Learning Center for many years after college). Alanna came to Winona from the Chicago suburbs to go to Winona State University and has stuck around to enjoy the beauty this part of the country offers and has additionally earned a Master of Teaching and Learning degree and a Reading Teacher Certificate from St. Mary's University. Growing up with three younger brothers, she has been teaching and working with students of all ages as long as she can remember. Alanna likes to stay active with outdoor activities like hiking, biking and paddle boarding, as well as yoga, Irish Dance and lots of reading. Her husband, Jeremiah, is from Winona and they have one son, a 2nd grader at St. Stan's, and a spoiled dog, Freya.  

Mrs. Teresa Schaefer taught Kindergarten for 7 years and 5th grade for 7 years. She started SJB theater at St. John's and directed numerous plays over an 11-year period. She is involved in community theater in Chatfield, loves reading, and playing with her two dogs Leila and Jazzy, and her cat Peanut. She has 4 children Genevieve (Isaac), Lindsy, Nate, and Justin. She also has 1 grandchild, Rowan, who is 2 and she absolutely adores. Teresa recently got married this past summer (August 14th) and moved to Chatfield which was also her hometown growing up. She is excited to be back in the area and teaching at Cotter. 

Mr. David Skeels is a 5th grade teacher at Cotter.  He became a teacher because he wanted to help kids learn to love school and encourage them to be good human beings. He loves working with kids and making learning fun.  This will be his seventh year teaching 5th grade at the Catholic Schools in Winona.  Prior to that, he taught grades 3-8 in a small Catholic school in Wisconsin for two years.  He graduated from Winona State University in 2012 with a degree in elementary education (K-8) with an emphasis in both math and science. While attending WSU, he met his wife, Kelley.  You might know her as Mrs. Skeels, the fourth grade teacher as St. Stan's.  He grew up in Winona in a family of five.  All five of the kids went through the Catholic Schools in Winona and graduated from Cotter.  He loves spending time outdoors.  He enjoys hiking with Mrs. Skeels and their dogs Leo and Ollie.  They also enjoy going out on the Mississippi River together.  He is so excited to be back at Cotter... this time as a teacher!  

Mrs. Eliza Kirk is a sixth grade teacher and this is her first year at Cotter. She and her family have moved to Winona recently from the United Arab Emirates where Mrs. Kirk taught in various International and American curriculum schools, as well as teaching in Bermuda several years ago. She received her Master’s degree in Early Childhood Education from the University of Georgia in 1998. This is her 19th year teaching, and Mrs. Kirk encourages all students to be independent and curious learners. The best part of teaching for her is learning new things from the students. The prior knowledge they bring to the classroom provides many opportunities for students to share what they know: different math techniques, new artists, exciting book recommendations, and so much more. Mrs. Kirk and her family love traveling and going for walks to explore each new place they visit.

Mrs. Linda Schauer began her teaching career at the public schools in Aitkin, MN way back in 1978 where she met her husband, Dale. They then moved to Alexandria, MN where she began her career teaching in Catholic schools. His job moved them again to Maple Grove where she took a job at St. Martin's in Rogers. She finally ended up in Winona in 1999, and the following year began a job at WACS.  Except for a few transition years when moving, Mrs. Schauer has almost exclusively taught 6th grade. She is originally from a small town in northern MN called Gilbert. Mrs. Schauer attended college at the University of MN-Duluth, and in 1996 received her Master’s of Curriculum and Instruction from the College of St. Thomas.  She has one daughter, Kelsey, who graduated from CHS in 2007 and an adorable grandson, Graham, who is almost 2 years old. She is excited to be a new member of the Cotter family and even start the school year "Covid-style!"

Mrs. Suzanne Ubl is originally from New Ulm, MN.  She graduated from Winona State University with degrees in Elementary Education and Special Education (K-12). The Ubl’s have three children who all attend Cotter Schools.  Andrew is a senior, Katelyn is an eighth grader and their youngest, Emily, is entering fifth grade.  Mrs. Ubl is really looking forward to being a part of the Cotter family!    

Ms. Tara Welch has taught 5th and 6th grade band for the past 22 years at WACS.  In addition to that, she has also taught Kindergarten music for the past 18 years.  She is a '92 graduate of Cotter and then graduated from Winona State with a degree in vocal and instrumental music education.  At Cotter Tara will continue teaching 5th and 6th grade band and lessons.

She is also the music director at Immaculate Heart of Mary seminary in Winona, the interim director of music at Cathedral parish, and the principal piano/organ player.  

She has had the privilege of having been able to be a piano accompanist for Cotter and WACS beginning when she was in 9th grade and continues to do so now by accompanying for solo and ensemble, the Cotter musical, masses and pretty much anything that would require a pianist.

Outside of school, she enjoys spending time with her parents, siblings and many nieces and nephews.  She is a big fan of "The Avengers," and Marvel, and Captain America is her favorite character.

Mrs. Julie Olstad teaches music to 1st-4th graders at St. Stan's and 5th and 6th graders at Cotter. This is her 30th year teaching in the Catholic Schools. Previous to that she spent 13 years teaching in the public schools. She is originally from Chicago, and attended Catholic schools all through her senior year of high school.  In 1972, she came to St. Mary's University to attend college. She received her B.A in Music Education in 1976, and her M.Ed. in 2003. Julie and her husband Gene have 3 grown children, Megan, Jeanne, and Tim. They all attended Winona Area Catholic Schools and Cotter, where they received an excellent education. They have one grandchild, Lily, who is 13 and the light of their lives. They also have 2 dogs, Teddy and Oliver. In her spare time, she loves making jewelry, reading, and travelling. She is excited to be back at St. Stan's, and looking forward to her new endeavors at Cotter.  She thoroughly loves her job, and is excited to bring the beauty of music to her students.

Mrs. Anne Besek is part of the 5th and 6th grade support staff at Cotter. She is a SMU grad where she earned her degree in Elementary education (98’) and master's degree (00’). She has been part of the Winona area Catholic Schools on and off since 1998. She taught 5-day preschool and Kindergarten gym at St. Mary’s Primary for 3 years. She was a stay at home mom for her 3 sons, Matthew 19, Robert 17 and Jonathan 15, who have all gone to WACS and Cotter. When her kids started school, she became a parent volunteer at St. Stan’s which led to becoming a school cook for 3+ years. She eventually transitioned into a teacher's aide, math support, playground monitor and anything else they needed help with. As they say she is a jack of all trades, master of none! For the past 4 years she has also had the privilege of coaching the

Cotter girls’ tennis team and assistant coaching the boys team with her husband Jeff. In her spare time, she enjoys playing tennis, women’s park rec softball, hiking, and bean bags. She has been married to her husband Jeff for 22 years. He is also a Cotter grad. She is so excited to be part of the Cotter community!

Mr. David Jewison has been teaching mathematics at Cotter/WACS since the fall of 2009. He has taught classes from 3rd grade up to Algebra. Coach Jewison has been working with students at Cotter since the fall of 1999 when he started coaching Junior High football. He has coached 21 basketball seasons (13 GBB & 8 BBB) and 19 Track & Field seasons. For many years, Mr. Jewison has directed the summer H.O.T. Math program and WACS STEM program. He and his wife Ellen are blessed to have 6 healthy children: Lauren (7th), William (5th), Claire (3rd), Kate (1st), Cora (Preschool) and Sam (almost 2 years old).